Former Chicago Cubs Burnout Turned Into San Diego Padres Breakout Star

The Chicago Cubs let a struggling pitcher go after the 2023 season and he has now become one of the most important pieces to a San Diego Padres team that is pushing for a World Series trophy.

Jeremiah Estrada was a sixth-round selection in the 2017 MLB draft by the Cubs. While he was never expected to be “the next big thing,” he certainly was able to drum up a little bit of excitement.

Estrada peaked at No. 17 in the Chicago farm system back in 2018 per the MLB.com prospect rankings.

He was always a pitcher that flashed a lot of potential, but there was never too much confidence that he could do it at a consistent rate. His fastball had vastly differing speeds and his changeup also showed a bit of potential, according to his scouting report.

The California native had a terrible 2019 campaign and didn’t pitch at all during 2020 due to the pandemic wiping that season out. Once 2021 came and he got back on the mound, though, there was hope again.

By 2022, he had brought his ERA down to just 1.30 over 48.1 innings of work in High-A all the way up to Triple A.

He made his MLB debut as a COVID-19 replacement player as he struck out two and walked one against the Toronto Blue Jays, but was sent back down right after the game. He was called back up in September and finished the year with a 3.18 ERA.

Estrada was given another shot in 2023, but struggled mightily. His 6.75 ERA makes things look even better than they were, as he completely fell apart over his final five games for the team.

He was waived in November and was eventually claimed by the Padres. The once outcast has now become a bonafide star in the San Diego bullpen.

There were a couple of rough stretches for him this season, but he both opened and ended the regular season playing at a very high rate.

He set an MLB record when he struck out 13 consecutive batters back in May.

Over his final month of work he posted a 0.84 ERA in 13 games and 10.2 innings.

A big reason for his success is his fastball ticking up a bit to over 97 MPH on average and the introduction of a killer splitter to his repetoire.

Given the struggles of the Cubs bullpen this season, it likely would have helped to have this version of Estrada sitting around.